The Seven Days That Took To Love You
by TeahTheFoxLover
Summary: On the 26th, he fell from the sky. The next day he woke up, and so, only six days were left. And Tantei-kun apparently wasn't planning on letting him go until he was declared completely healthy in the detective's books. Oh boy. Kaishin, December Challenge
1. Day One: The Fall

A/N: Hiya! Some of you might remember me by my other story 'Raven, tantei-kun?'... and some not. Don't worry about that story, I'll definitely get to it at a later date, but for now this story takes over upmost precedence. I just came up today with the idea and made the basic outline, so I'll hope I'll manage to overcome my panic attacks and complete one chapter each day (oh boy, oh boy, and I won't even have a computer for most of the day D:) So, this is my first Kaishin story, not to say my first romance story at all (tho I've found the affectionate scenes are lighter to write... for now) so please tell me what you think. This fanfic is for the December challenge on the Mirrorcomplex community, btw. Hope my writing doesn't suck.

Alright, on to the reading. *takes a good friend's example and goes to hide behind a bullet-proof desk*

Pairings: Kaishin  
Disclaimer: NOT. MINE. Seriously. *shooes away the annoying lawyers*

* * *

Day One: The Fall

* * *

"After him! Don't let him get away!"

Kaito snickered to himself as he heard another crash going off behind him, his legs never faltering in the long run. Literally. After all, he'd been leading the whole taskforce on through the Kusumoto mansion for at least ten minutes straight.

_'Eleventh time in a row, oh my~'_ Kaito sang to himself, then taunted aloud. "Getting rusty back there, my dear taskforce~?"

As he expected, loud bellows of officers met the barb, but none of them could truly compare to Nakamori-keibu's wild assembly of profanities. The one currently leading them could barely even hear himself above all the noise the taskforce was making. A pity really that the inspector couldn't make it tonight.

Not.

He'd heard Aoko going on and on so much about the Christmas her father promised he would spend with her back in Ekoda, he'd been really happy for her then. She'd been so pumped up about it, Kaito had no doubts she'd be ready to physically hinder her father from marching out the front door at the first mention of a KID heist.

And that was precisely why it was KID's duty to set up a heist not even a day after Christmas, with no more than a half a day warning to follow it up. It was, truth be told, a test dear Nakamori-keibu had to pass in KID's books: to stay and miss a chance at KID's capture for his daughter's sake, or leave in the wake of Christmas to catch a thief that not only planned on not being caught, but also giving a lesson or two to his pursuers. It goes without mention that the inspector was doing beyond well for now, considering his mysterious absence. He might actually get to pass the test.

'_Aoko must have used her mop on him by now,'_ Kaito pondered.

He laughed merrily as he caught sight of his taskforce momentarily before turning another corner in the large mansion. They would have trouble identifying themselves as policemen with that atrocious hot pink color of their uniforms. Really, without Nakamori-keibu's barking to edge them on, they seemed more like lost puppies than growling bulldogs.

'_On t__he subject of dogs, where's the bloodhound anyway?'_ Kaito mused as he evaded another group of officers that tried to cut off his path to the roof. In a puff of pink smoke they found themselves immobilized by, of all things, duct-tape, keeping them glued to the walls of the hallway with ribbons (red and green, it was Christmas season after all) decorating the top of their police hats.

And he'd been so sure Tantei-kun would make it to his heist tonight. Why was he so sure? Well, it wasn't like he'd gone out of his way to make sure the detective had nothing better to do on that specific day, and _especially not_ going as far as leaving a heist note at the Kudo mansion, at the exact same spot he knew the seventeen-year-old went to read his books for most of the day. Of course not.

Well, it was true that KID had been somewhat obsessed with the Detective of The East for some time now, though why it was so not even he knew. Still, he wouldn't be that obvious about it, now would he? Right?

The locked door that led to the roof was quickly dealt with as Kaito stepped out in the cold night air. He walked slowly, almost sashaying over to the edge of the impressive looking mansion of the Kusumoto family.

All around him, tall trees spread wide across the horizon, the everlasting green a stark contrast to the pale yellow color of the building he was residing on. The snow, despite the cold December air, still hadn't once fallen this season, so all the estates in the nearby area could still be clearly seen despite being partially concealed by the lush forest. In the distance, a small village was visible by the twinkling lights of Christmas season, with periodical splotches of darkened white and yellow spread a fair distance away from it.

It was a known fact that rich families, which wanted their peace from all the media and hubbub of the city life, often decided to build their summer homes in this residential area. It was quite a peaceful place, with no hectic of the urban life and no expectations from the outside world, since the villagers nearby took warmly to anyone willing to dwell among them. Kaito should know, since he'd taken the privilege earlier that day to disguise himself as a newcomer and take a look around.

He'd been pleasantly surprised at the hearty welcome the villagers gave him and their willingness to divulge information about the nearby estates. Apparently the Kusumotos were on pretty good terms with the village and went there every other day, bringing forth the notion that they spent almost all of their time in their supposed summer home, as opposed to the rest of the families that rarely came to their retreats at this time of the year. For Kaito, it saved him a lot of the time searching on the jewel he had his sight set on, since there was no doubt in his mind the family would take it with them to such an inconspicuous place as this one.

The teen's eyes turned away from the pretty lights of the village as the racket the taskforce was making grew louder. He turned around just in time to observe them setting off his final booby trap, making them all spill onto the rooftop in one large pile of bodies. As a slight chuckle escaped him, the moonlight reflected on his monocle, the light it gave giving off an ethereal presence to the men assembled.

"My, my, you really do seem lost without your keibu cheering you on~" he saw more than one officer twitch at the mention of Nakamori-keibu's 'cheering', but decided to let the possible jab go for the moment. "Well, I must be going now, dear gentlemen. I apologize for the late hour at which you had to part from your families and am dearly sorry for the time I took away from your planned family gatherings, but~ as they say, the show must go on, and this show, unfortunately, is at its end." He gave the officers one more firm KID like grin before taking a step back, to the edge of the roof. "Ah, and please tell Nakamori-keibu on my behalf that he passed the test." A hand mockingly tipped the white hat down, before a barely noticeable jump took him over the edge of the roof, plummeting to the ground below. "Adieu!"

The hang-glider was activated before the men even had time to comprehend his vanishing act beyond the edge of the roof. By the time they finally untangled themselves from the pile and rushed to the edge of the roof, he'd long since left them in the dust, his hang-glider taking him higher and higher above the evergreen pine trees.

Finally allowing himself to relax slightly after the events of the night, Kaito cackled slightly as he maneuvered the glider with one hand, the other one diving into one of the numerous pockets of his suit and taking out the fruition of his latest heist. The green emerald felt heavy in his hand, the small red streaks at its sides glinting in the moonlight.

The Belated Christmas gem.

Truth be told, the gem itself wasn't named because of a loaded jeweler feeling the need to bestow it with a fancy name, but rather a legend originating from the Kusumoto family itself. It is said that a man found the gem after wandering the landside far and wide, looking for some food in a heavy snowstorm that befell his village. His family had been poor, and they'd been starving. They'd been praying to their god everyday, hoping for a miracle to happen, and truly, it did. On that night, one day after the Christmas day, as the man fell to his knees and pleaded god to help his family, a glint of light in the snow caught the man's attention. Upon approaching the mysterious glow, the man found a beautiful emerald stone with red streaks running across it laying there innocently, as if it had fallen from the sky. The man wasted no time in pocketing the precious gem and exchanging it for money and food with a trusted jeweler he knew. His family lived wealthy and happy after that, forever grateful for kami-sama's mercy, while the jeweler decided to keep the gem in his family collection from then on.

Well, to this day at least, since Kaito now held that same precious gem the jeweler family had been keeping strongly guarded away.

His lips still stretched into the confident smirk that many would affiliate only with the phantom thief of the moonlight, he only barely caught a small spark reflecting of the emerald in his hand before pain exploded _everywhere_.

The hang-glider above him gave out not long after, the ripples developing in it from precise gun-shots too great of a damage to faithfully hold its user up anymore. A few more sparks from a far-away mansion's roof caught the thief's attention before he tried to twist his body from its previous path as best as he could to avoid the in-coming projectiles. Small bursts of pain at various points of his body told him he was still shot, but at least avoided the worst of it. He'd live through this.

He wasn't so sure of that thought anymore as he dazedly noticed the trees below him nearing him at rapid speeds. He barely managed to twist his body in a mid-air crouch before the first branch roughly scraped him against the skin of his face.

-

He wasn't sure how long he'd been there, lying on the ground, waiting for the sniper to come and pick his prize up. He only knew that he couldn't move, could barely fathom a conscious thought for more than a few seconds at a time.

Everything was on fire. Or, was it him that was on fire?

What was he doing here anyway? Why did he hurt?

'_Get a hold of yourself! __You have to get away!'_

Crunching footsteps in the distance alerted him of a presence other than him in the eerily quiet woods. His slowly returning conscious mind, still unwilling to wake up fully but feeling the urgency of the matter, gave him strength to gain control of his body. Unfortunately, he decided on moving the wrong arm and ended up yelping loudly at the pain that erupted at his shoulder area.

The footsteps in the distance halted suddenly, making Kaito hold his breath, before they broke in a full out run into his direction. They must've seen his uniform or glider in the dark night then.

When the footsteps got into a five feet radius from him and still didn't stop, Kaito knew he had to act. Now.

His uninjured arm slowly made its way to draw a smoke-bomb, sleeping-gas, _something_ from his pockets, but a gentle hand grabbed his trembling one and put it back at his side, preventing him from taking any further action.

By now Kaito was, despite all the lessons his father had imparted on him about poker-faces and the importance of never letting his emotions show, ready to start hyperventilating by all accounts, but even that notion was stopped by an almost soothing hand coming to rest on his chest. He winced slightly from the pain it brought but still found himself oddly comforted by the contact.

Trying to focus his mind on at least opening his eyes to see his mysterious- _Rescuer? Murderer?_ – he didn't know, and the splitting headache he spotted after that small attempt of defiance told him he somehow wouldn't be finding out their face anytime soon.

A sense of vertigo swept over him, and suddenly Kaito found himself slipping away into the darkness sooner than he thought. Sensing unconsciousness trying to take over him again, Kaito's breathing picked up again, the image of lying unprotected at this stranger's mercy not at all welcome to him.

'_No, no, no, no, NO!'_ His mind screamed at him. He couldn't let himself fall asleep, couldn't surrender himself to this stranger's questionable care, couldn't let him see past his monocle, his face, his identity… So much was at risk…

Again, the soothing hand came back to rest on his chest, with another warm one coming to gently cup the side of his face, the one side that _wasn't_ covered by the monocle, causing his breath to hitch slightly and start to even out. How did they _do_ that?

"Rest. I won't peer at anything I'm not supposed to, so your secret is safe for now, KID." A quite voice said, the owner sending hot puffs of breath over Kaito's ear from the proximity of it. It sounded familiar to the thief, but he couldn't quite place it no matter how much he tried. The implications of those words did make great relief wash over him, though, making the darkness almost swallow him whole as he let the adrenaline slowly drain out of his system.

The last thing he felt before surrendering to unconsciousness were two warm arms carefully bringing him into position to be gently picked up.

"Well," the fading words never reached his ears. "First _we_ need to get to safety, ne, thief-san?"

The old clock-tower in the village carried its chimes across the horizon, signifying the start of a new day. In the distance, a set of keen blue eyes lifted for a moment to listen to the echo, before swiftly turning back to the task at hand. Namely, carrying the dead weight on his back to a safe location.


	2. Day Two: Safe

A/N: Moving the longer author's notes to the ned of the chapter. Please review, I really need to know if you like this story so far.  
A/N2: Had trouble getting myself into the role of the mad doctor. You'll see what I mean.

Pairings: Kaishin  
Disclaimer: Still not owning it. So shoo off.

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Day Two: Safe

* * *

"That damn thief…"

Nimble fingers searched through the wardrobe, the old clothes rising up dust as they were tossed around. He barely bit back a curse as the search yielded no desired results. After a few more minutes of rummaging around through various drawers, the teen finally stopped to take a deep breath and calm his erratic heartbeat down.

'_Alright, calm down. Think. Where would Tou-san- no wait, wrong thing to ask. Where would_ Kaa-san _put a thing such as that in the house?' _A careful moment of pondering resulted in a massive sweat-drop on the side of his head as the teen guessed the obvious answer.

Sure enough, upon inspecting the large make-up stand in the corner, he found a white box neatly tucked in the top drawer of the desk.

'_Should've thought of it from the start…'_

Pulling out the medium-sized box, a splash of dark red on the back of his sleeve caught his eye, causing his half-annoyed state to instantly sober up in a serious, if not somewhat worried expression. He wasted no time as he left the master room behind him, his hurried footsteps taking him back to the bedroom nearest to the entrance hall.

"Stupid…"

He hadn't bothered to turn on the lights in his hurry, and frankly he wasn't planning on figuring out where which switch resided yet, so he let the house bathe in darkness for a little longer. The moonlight, while not as bright as it would've been at a full moon, was still enough to dimly illuminate the hallways through the high windows, so he had no trouble seeing where he went.

Turning another corner in the large estate (how many of them did the Kudo family even own? He wouldn't have known this one even existed if it weren't for his mother kindly offering him a house key, with a smile that set him quite on edge thank you very much, when he declared his intended destination), he came to the slightly ajar door of the only inhabited room in the house. He opened it silently and carefully stepped inside, even though he knew its current occupant was neither capable of hearing or fleeing upon sight.

The moonlight casting its glow through the windows illuminated the unmoving being lying on the bed, limbs sprawled in the same position Shinichi left him before rushing off to find the first-aid kit. The normally immaculate white of his outfit was now shredded in places and tainted with dirt and dark stains that could only be described as blood.

Shinichi only stopped for a single moment to observe the spectacle of light before he was moving again. The curtains were soon blocking any light coming from the outside, plunging the room in darkness and hindering any eyes from unwittingly peeking in.

His hands searched for the switch he saw earlier by the door, turning the light on as they found it. Blinking against the sudden light and letting his eyes adjust to the brightness, the seventeen-year-old hurriedly moved to the fallen figure on the bed.

"What were you thinking…"

Gently, he grabbed the thief's sprawled arms and spread them wide open for better access. The legs were next, Shinichi being mindful of the many scrapes and developing bruises as he straightened them and took off the polished white shoes.

A light inspection concluded there were no major wounds except for the one at his shoulder area. Really, it was a miracle in itself KID didn't seem to have been hit in any vital organs, not to mention having escaped with all of his bones still intact.

"Idiot…"

He observed the thief for a moment, his frowning gaze sliding down to the white jacket suit, as if debating on which course of action he should take, before he heaved a great sigh.

"Fine… But you'd damn well better be grateful for this, KID."

Opening the first-aid kit on the floor, he forwent the scissors he found there and set about removing the outfit the normal way. His fingers worked on the buttons hastily, the stained white suit jacket falling away to reveal more and more of the bloodied dress shirt beneath. Though mildly alarmed at the amount of blood the thief seemed to have lost, Shinichi kept his pace and carefully started pulling the sleeves off of his arms, mindful of the fact that any wrong move could set a number of traps off at anytime.

Thankfully, the sleeves came off without too much trouble and Shinichi managed to remove the whole thing safely. Setting it aside to deal with it later, the detective finally turned back to the kit and took out a long pair of scissors. He used them to cut the dress shirt apart, oddly enough feeling no qualms to preserve it like he did with Kid's suit jacket.

The blue dress shirt soon sported a rough cut from KID's right abdomen to his injured left shoulder, the scissors avoiding any contact with the flesh wound and working its way around it. He lifted the cloth carefully, finally able to examine the wound closely.

It seemed the thief had lost a good amount of blood to the injury, but it was nothing a good bandaging job and some rest couldn't deal with. The important thing was the bullet shot straight through the shoulder, miraculously enough missing any bone and important nerves in the body, and left through an exit wound on the other side. It was pure luck that it didn't stay inside, otherwise KID would've had to go through the painful experience of having a bullet removed by an amateur in that field of expertise.

Taking out a tube of antiseptic and a roll of sterile bandages, he decided to start with the major wounds and then work on to the smaller, less important ones. He poured some of the antiseptic on a sterile cloth before applying it to the wound.

At first there was no response from the thief, and for some time Shinichi worked in quiet concentration on the task at hand, but after taking care of the shoulder wound and bandaging some other minor scrapes, KID started showing signs of waking. Small whimpers would escape him as his breath hitched ever so often, the disinfectant burning at his flesh and eliciting small sounds of pain.

Shinichi stopped cleaning the semi-deep scrape on the other teen's leg when it became obvious he would be waking up soon. He stood up and went to get a glass of water from the kitche. Rummaging through the back-pack he left in the corner of the room upon his hasty arrival, the detective also took out a package of pain-killers and popped two in his hand.

He moved back to the bedside and sat down on the edge, one of his hands slipping around the thief and helping him sit up better as the other's mind slowly started returning back to consciousness.

A dazed violet eye fluttered open slightly, the other one still covered by the monocle, before scrunching shut again against the bright light of the room. The detective placed the two pills against KID's mouth, silently urging him to open up. He felt him stiffen in his hold immediately, his instincts kicking in despite his half-awake state.

"You're safe, KID. I won't do anything to compromise your identity, so you can rest for now. Open up."

The thief stayed stiff in his hold for some time, as if processing his words at a much slower rate than normal. The continued close proximity caused heat to creep up Shinichi's cheeks, though he couldn't explain for what reason. Finally the thief relaxed and opened his mouth wide enough for Shinichi to give him the pills. The detective took the glass of water from the nightstand next and held it against his mouth.

"Drink."

KID obeyed, is somewhat reluctantly. He drank hesitantly at first, but ended up gulping the whole glass down in the end. Shinichi took it away and helped KID settle back down onto the pillow he'd been resting on earlier. Once he was sure the thief had fallen asleep again, he quietly took care of the rest of the scrapes and skin-deep bullet wounds. After that, he took on the task of getting the other teen out of his bloodied clothes and into some proper pajama slacks.

For some reason, the blush on his face wouldn't leave for quite some time after that.

-

"_Where have you been, Shinichi? I've been waiting for you over half an __hour before finally deciding I'd just dump you on a date instead of the other way!"_

"_I'm really sorry, Ran. I've been caught up in a case again and-"_

"_Again?! Shinichi, this is the fourth time in a row that you've done this!"_

The dark liquid sloshed slightly as Shinichi stopped spinning the small spoon in the cup, his gaze unfocused. He'd taken a shower after making sure KID was going to be alright by himself (and even then he'd checked on him at least once every ten minutes) and now, with nothing better to do in the early morning, he was enjoying his daily cup of coffee.

Well, not exactly enjoying. He was more like reminiscing of the past.

"_Shinichi?"_

"_Yeah..?"_

"_I've been thinking…"_

"_Ran…?"_

Ever since the fall of the organization, Shinichi hadn't been the same. Everyone could attest to that. You could say he became quieter, more humble, and most of all, more secretive - a trait that most people would never affiliate with the Detective of the East.

Shinichi himself hadn't seen it as that much of a surprise, considering all the things he had been put through as Conan, but to he rest of the world that knew him only as Kudo Shinichi, high-school detective, Holmes freak and Ran's future husband, it was a large reality jump.

There were so many differences between now and then, so many changes he had to undergo, physically and mentally, that people could barely recognize him as the boisterous _normal_ teenage boy he'd been then.

He changed. And she changed too. And despite how close they'd been, how close he'd been to her without her knowing, they eventually drew apart.

"_I think… Shinichi, this won't work anymore… I- I can't take it any longer…"_

"_Ran…"_

"_We both knew this day would come, ever since you returned…"_

"…_I know, but I hoped…"_

"_I know, Shinichi. Me too. But- but it won't work, it can't work."_

"…"

"_Shinichi…?"_

_Two sets of blue eyes meeting each other. A smile playing on the boy's lips. "…So, friends?"_

_A choked laugh and a stray tear wiped away, replaced by a wide smile on the girl's face. "What are you talking about, baka? Best friends of course!"_

And they learned to live with that.

-

He looked up from his book as the figure on the bed shifted slightly, the uninjured arm drawing the blanket closer his body before falling still again.

He'd retreated to this room after finding nothing noteworthy to do in the house (well, there was always cleaning, but Shinichi would rather pass up the chance on that) except making sure the guest he was letting stay over was truly alright. And so he'd grabbed one of his favorite books, 'The Study in Scarlet', and made himself comfortable in the old armchair he found in the living room, content to spend the rest of the day in this position.

'_Speaking of the day…'_

He yawned slightly as he glanced at the curtained window with a tired look in his eyes. He'd been up for most of the night (who was he kidding, a quick hour-long nap on the couch hadn't been nearly enough to compensate for all the happenings of the day) and barely got a shut eye before the caffeine started to kick in for the day.

'_A day,'_ Shinichi mused. _'That is slowly coming to an end.'_

The light that was once clearly visible under the curtain's lower margin was now barely even there. The detective stood up from his seat, working the kinks out of his body as he moved the curtains to peer slightly at the outside world. The sun was already halfway beyond the horizon, the sky darkening to let the cold December evening take over.

He briefly contemplated dozing off in the armchair and staying the night there to watch his patient for potential attempts at escape. One look at the old piece of furniture caused a scowl to set on his face.

No way was he going to sleep in that, and especially not for KID's sake. He'd spent there the whole day already and his butt was beginning to hurt from it. He would get a good night's sleep tonight, that he would make sure of.

Picking up his book from the armchair, he slowly made his way out of the room, pausing in the doorway to turn the lights off. He looked on in the darkness of the room, his eyes barely discerning the lump on top of the bed.

He hesitated briefly, hand on the doorknob, before letting it go a second before the door closed behind him.

"Good night, thief-san."

* * *

A/N: So, Day Two is complete. I don't know where that bit of Shinichi angst came from, it just rolled off the top of my head while I contemplated a good ending. Hope I did well with the medical scene. Finally the thinking part is over (I hope, even I don't know) Next up: Day Three - and what do you think who will wake up from his beauty sleep? Hope you like! :D


	3. Day Three: The Awakening

Pairings: KaiShin  
Disclaimer: Ummm... NO. *Shoo shoo*

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Day Three: The Awakening

* * *

Kaito stirred slightly, his breathing picking up as the images of Tantei-kun in a nurse costume (why a nurse costume?) slowly started fading to the back of his mind, and wakefulness took over instead. Briefly he wondered why the skirt seemed so short and why the smile on his face left a pleasant feeling running throughout his body as he absently turned on his side in the comfort of the warm blanket.

Or, that was what he tried to do at least, until the pain all over his body finally registered to his foggy brain.

Blue-violet eyes snapped open in alarm, the orbs taking a moment to realize this was _not_ his room, the slight stiff blanket (obviously not much in use) was _not_ his, and that armchair there surely wasn't originally from this room, judging by the atrocious contrast it had with the color of the walls. This all took less than a few seconds to register before Kaito finally allowed himself to wonder just _what the heck_ happened to him.

And just like that, the images from last night abruptly came to the forefront of his mind, mocking him with their clarity and way too many memory holes after the fall. He cursed internally, for he still didn't know if the coast was safe enough to do it out-loud, and grit his teeth in anger.

'_I got shot at! I let myself get shot at!'_ he shouted in his mind. He couldn't believe he hadn't counted on this happening. They'd done it before and showed every intention of being capable to do it again, so why? Why hadn't he anticipated it tonight?

Maybe it was because they'd been laying low the past few months, after the news of some other shady organization falling down got out, or maybe because he thought, with the short notice and deserted heist in a desolate place, that they wouldn't dare or manage to set up a proper assassinating mission fast enough. Or maybe, just maybe, he'd allowed himself to hope.

Wrong thought there. He should have expected it regardless of all the evidence pointing otherwise. And now he had to pay for that mistake.

He strained his ears, body tense, trying to determine if someone else was standing guard to the room he was residing in. He was injured, and confused, in a place he didn't recognize nor cared to stick to, with an unknown amount of entities lurking around and obviously taking care of the illustrious phantom thief enough to keep him alive, if his crudely bandaged wounds were any indication.

Hearing no noise in the house, the thief looked around in the semi-darkness of the room, his eyes searching for a clock or _something_ that would tell him the time, as unlikely as it sounded, before his eyes fell on the dark curtain blocking the light coming through the window. The sunlight shone brightly on the small speck of floor that wasn't covered by the cloth, happily conveying to him that it was day, and probably nowhere near sunset if the intensity of it could be judged by anything.

'_So, I slept through the whole night.' _He checked for any noises again, just to be sure before attempting any escape plans. _'Well then, better now than never. Time to go.'_

He threw the blanket aside with his right arm, favoring the other one as he remembered the painful experience of having a bullet shot though your shoulder, before slowly swinging his legs over to the edge of the bed. The cold air stung at his bare chest, and for a moment he panicked. Hurriedly, he looked down on himself, only to sigh in relief at the pajama slacks he found low on his hips.

No crazy fangirls imprisoning him, then. What a relief. Of course, that still left the possibility of the sniper finding him in the woods then, or any other person that had qualms calling the hospital (or police) to pick him up. Oh well.

Then he panicked for another reason entirely.

'_Where's my suit?!' _

His suit, his _father's_ suit, that should never leave his body during a heist, was _gone_. His eyes swiveled around the room frantically searching for the piece of clothing, as if his captor was stupid enough to leave it in the thief's vicinity, before they focused on the old armchair again.

A white suit jacket dangled innocently from one of the armrests. A longer cloth, definitely his uniform's cape, lay sprawled on the floor next to it, the messy jumble ending spread out in gentle waves, with a few dark stains decorating it.

Kaito almost fell back to the bed in relief, body instantly relaxing, if only for a little bit. He wouldn't have forgiven himself if anything happened to it. It was an heirloom, practically a treasure to him, passed down from father to son, and Kaito greatly cherished it for it. It had always stood by him, through all his heists and troubles, and he sometimes liked to envision his father standing over him, guarding him, with that same suit and cape billowing out behind him.

Who would leave a magician with his source of tricks in the same room anyway? Those were some lousy captors he had here.

A small smile set onto his face, just a fraction away from his usual KID smirk, before he heaved himself up from the bed in one single movement, fully intent on pulling off one of his many disappearing acts again and never letting his captors near him again.

The world around him suddenly tipped to the side and decided spinning would be a great idea in this particular moment, before a sharp pain pierced through his leg. Letting out a loud cry at the sudden burn in one of his deeper cuts, he collapsed to the floor as his legs gave out beneath him. To add salt to injury, he heard a faint thump in the next room, before hurried footsteps started making their way over to him.

Greatly alarmed at the prospect of his captor barging in and catching him in the act of getting away, Kaito closed his eyes against the spinning outside world and grabbed the bedside edge to heave himself up. He had to get out of here. Fast.

However, as he soon found out, the world hadn't been the one spinning; in fact, it was him that couldn't keep a sense of balance even for one second, and with the added impediment of his legs not being able to support him, he found himself falling down again. Only this time, he would fall onto his right side, which would effectively pin his injured shoulder beneath him. He closed his eyes, preparing for the pain that was sure to come.

A strong arm wrapped hastily around his waist, the other pushing against his other side, holding him up so he wouldn't fall. Kaito grabbed at the person's shirt, trying to steady himself and fight off the feeling of nausea that wouldn't let his eyes open.

"…Stupid thief, what were you doing out of bed?"

As he was herded off the ground as gently as possible and carefully deposited on the bed, Kaito finally managed to overcome his dizziness long enough to realize he_ knew_ that voice.

"T-tantei-kun?"

A grunt met his statement and he winced slightly as the medical tape on his leg was peeled off. There was a moment of silence before the detective sighed disgruntled.

"You opened the cut again, KID. I'll have to re-bandage it."

The nausea dwindling slowly to the back of his mind, the thief squinted his eyes open against the light in the room (the light was turned as he soon found out) and directed them on the blurry person at his side.

"Wha-?"

An amused chuckle answered him, and true to his words, Tantei-kun bent slightly forward to retrieve a first-aid kit from under the bed. He set about applying a new bandage to the opened cut, not even once inquiring about the disbelieving stare Kaito was sure he was directing at him. They continued on like that in silence, Shinichi wrapping his wound and Kaito warily observing him, as if expecting him to attack at any moment. And he had every right to do so, thank you very much..

"Does this happen often?"

Kaito blinked at Shinichi's penetrating gaze, broken from his inner debate on whether he should somehow knock out the detective to attempt escape, or just go with the flow and let himself being taken care of. A fleeting image of his dream passed trough his thoughts, leaving Kaito utilizing all of his knowledge of the poker-face to firmly fight the rising blush down. Another thought came to him, his uninjured hand rising in a flash to finger the monocle still there on his face. He gave the detective a befuddled stare.

The other teen was having none of it however and continued to regard him with that imploring gaze, demanding an answer.

"What do you mean?" He asked inquiringly, thoughts still on the fact that Tantei-kun _hadn't_ unmasked him when he had the chance. Of course, he could've done it anytime he was asleep and put it back on, but somehow he doubted he would use such a cheap trick on him.

His gaze turned dead-pan. "The sniping, the shootings, the assassination attempts, the suspicious characters aiming at you with their guns, you choose." His eyes slid down to rest on his shoulder. "I'll need to change the bandages there too, it bled pretty badly the day before."

"Huh? …Oh, right." Where was his poker-face today?! It seemed it got lost somewhere between the drop of eighty meters and _Kudo Shinichi_ nursing him. He didn't blame it really though. Any sane man in his position would be reduced to a gaping mess. Any sane men other than _him_.

"Arms up." The detective drawled, taking a pair of scissors from the kit. "And answer the question."

Finally, _finally _some semblance of the mask he usually reserved for heists only came back to him, and a taunting smirk set on his face. "My, my, aren't we commanding today." Despite his words, he raised his arms as best as he could without aggravating the injury. After the other teen cut a stripe and started taking the bandage off, he replied to the earlier question. "I'd say it happens on every other heist or so, though they'd been lying low recently. Probably thought I'd get too careless and associate them with that organization that fell recently."

He saw Tantei-kun stiffen momentarily and pause in his task, but the fingers continued their work not a moment later, so Kaito decided better not to ask.

"And they thought right, didn't they?"

It seemed the other sensed his reluctance of the subject too, for he didn't ask any further questions despite the curiosity Kaito knew was gnawing on his detective part of the brain.

"Where am I?"

"In the Kudo residence." Tantei-kun answered. "My parents apparently bought this house some years ago before leaving it to explore the world. It became a summer home, though I doubt they'd ever been here in the last ten years or so. They probably forgot it even existed until I told them where the KID heist was being set."

Kaito 'hmm'-ed, his mind taking in the information. So he was still in the same area as last night, probably somewhere near the place he fell too. Wincing slightly as the old bandage was completely removed and a new one set over the wound on his shoulders, he opened his mouth to ask the next question, but Tantei-kun beat him to it.

"If you're wondering about the sniper lurking around, I doubt they're in the vicinity anymore. The police are combing the forest through in search of you and asking around for any shady figures, so he or she is probably far away by now." Kaito glanced curiously at the curtained window, but it seemed like Tantei-kun caught his look. "Just a precaution."

The thief nodded his head, eyes anywhere but on the detective, before they settled on the white material hanging of the armchair in the room as he decided to pop the big question.

"Why are you doing this, Tantei-kun?"

The teen didn't speak at first. Kaito almost thought he'd decided to leave him in the dark, before a dismayed sigh escaped him. He finished wrapping the new bandages and sat back to look the thief properly in the eye, a faint scowl on his face.

"Since I know you'll probably try to escape again, and _most_ probably hurt yourself in the process too, I'll tell you the truth." He looked away then, avoiding Kaito's curious half-hidden stare. "It wouldn't seem - no, it _didn't_ seem right to hand you over like that. It just wouldn't be fair, not to you, not to the police, and not to-"

But Kaito didn't need to hear more of the detective's broken statement to know what he'd tried to tell. They were rivals, and it was an unspoken rule between them to always give their all in an encounter, to try to exceed the other in their own game; having one of them at their mercy due to inopportune events would be like cheating on the game and losing every respect the other had for him. It would feel wrong, to be frank.

Sitting back to prop against the pillow behind him, Kaito turned to fully regard the detective with a KID like smirk. "So, what do you plan as your next course of action?"

His rival returned the smirk with one of his own. "First, I'll have to nurse you back to health. And as for after that… Well, we'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

-

"Tantei-kun, amuse me!"

Shinichi looked up from his book to regard the thief on the bed with a truly deadpan look. The person in question was pouting slightly, his arms spread out like a child's waiting to be picked up and eyes looking at him in the classic puppy-eyes look.

'_You have _got_ to be kidding me.'_

After taking care of KID's injuries after his little stunt, he got down to making some lunch for him (because the day had been well underway before the thief decided on waking up) and supplying him with some painkillers to alleviate the pain. Following those events he decided to just settle down in the same armchair as yesterday and keep an eye on the illustrious thief as he read one of his books.

He forgot to consider KID's boredom kicking in during the day, or just what that boredom might compel him to do.

"No."

"But what should I do then? You can't just let me sit around here all by myself with nothing to do! Bad things could happen if it came to that…" The last part was spoken in a low tone, as if the other teen was afraid to even consider the implications of that statement. Shinichi snorted quietly, but kept his thoughts to himself.

KID pouted. "What? It's true! Don't you believe me?" A moment of silence. "Please don't let me die of boredom!"

"It's quite impossible to die of boredom, KID. I should know. Not even I stumbled on a case like that quite yet. Go to sleep."

The pout was back full on as KID fell back against the pillow propped high behind him. "I've been sleeping all day yesterday; I _think_ I got enough of that."

"You _think_?"

The thief nodded his head enthusiastically, before his gaze slid down to the white suit jacket still there where Shinichi left it lying last night.

"Can I have it back?"

Shinichi raised an eye-brow skeptically. "Why?"

A huff was his answer. "Well, if you're not going to amuse me, the least I can do is entertain myself."

Casting another wary glance at him, Shinichi finally decided to just go with the flow and give the thief what he wanted. Upon being offered the bloodied piece of clothing (because Shinichi still didn't dare try washing it for fear of setting something off) the thief gratefully took it like a child being offered candy and _hugged_ it happily.

Shinichi started to wonder what he'd gotten himself into when two puffs later there were two sets of colorful balloons rising to the ceiling, four small balls being juggled in the thief's hand and a cherry flavored lollipop sticking out of the teen's mouth. He stood there for a moment, trying to make sense of the situation as KID kept his focus fully on the juggling balls, before he just shook his head and decided ignoring the weirdness of it all would be the best course of action.

He returned back to his seat and continued where he left off in his book, eyes sliding ever so often back to the spectacle in the middle of the room, especially as KID took to juggling not only the balls but some other items he found lying around (including the kit from under the bed; how he managed that Shinichi would never know).

Eventually though, after he'd gotten used to it, Shinichi delved back into his book, resurfacing only then when he became conscious of the unusual silence in the room. When he looked up to inquire about KID unnerving lack of noise, he found the thief sleeping soundly, head tilted back onto the pillow and juggling items askew on the bed.

Glancing at his watch, he found it was already evening, but, even with that, it was still unusual for the thief to be asleep already; after all, he slept through a whole day already.

Standing up from his seat, he made his way to the bed and picked up all of the items lying around, as well as the suit jacket, before deciding depositing them next to it would be best. He was sure KID could make them disappear once he awoke next anyway.

He glanced at KID's face, his fingers automatically twitching to remove the monocle that obscured his clear way, but he held it in. The rules were clear, and he wasn't planning on breaking the delicate truce they'd made.

Sliding down his face to rest on his injured shoulder, Shinichi blinked as he became aware of KID shivering. Well, it was pretty cold in the house, the fire Shinichi lit in the hearth of the living room surely already extinguished by now. He went to the wardrobe against the far wall of the room and took out a reserve blanket he found upon searching for the first aid kit. He spread it over the phantom thief and too late realized (with absolute mortification) that he was _tucking KID in_.

Deciding it would be a good time as any for him to retire as well (for he must really need it if his last action was any indication), Shinichi left the room soon after that, a silent, if unheard by the occupant, good night in his wake.

In the now dark room, the figure on the bed shivered more violently as small beads of sweat rolled of his forehead, the arm not currently bandaged rising up to pull the blanket to over his chin.

The shivers continued throughout the night.

* * *

A/N: Yuss, I made it! You can't blame me (okay you can, who else is there?) if the chapter is posted on the 29th, it firmly says I still have one hour left by the Pacific Time Zone (even though its eight in the morning here... yes, I stayed the night awake, again.) so 28th it is. And thanks for all the reviews and alerts, they're whats keeping me going when I get at a standstill in my writing n.n

A/N2: See, Alice the Walker, my ordered bullet-proof desk came just in time *hides behind it as the crowd goes wild about the cliffhanger at the end* ... Haven't met for it to happen? *ducks as a fork whizzed by her head* Oops? ...Well, you know what's coming next, Alice-chan (hope I can call you that) ^^

Next time, Shin-chan wakes up to a lovely surprise~, or is it? Stay tuned! :D


	4. Day Four: Warmth

Pairings: KaiShin  
Disclaimer: I won't even grace you with a response, you scavengers.

* * *

Day Four: Warmth

* * *

Shinichi sighed contentedly into his pillow, cheeks nuzzling lightly farther into the soft material. How long had it been since he last had a full night's sleep like this, never mind having the chance to laze around before finally deciding on waking up? He honestly didn't know, nor did he care straining his brain into a wakeful enough state to contemplate so.

Nevertheless, the simple question automatically brought on so many un-wanted images; long nights staying awake in his small body to Ran's crying echoing from the adjacent room, busy morning hours spent at the police station wrapping up yet another murder case, hectic days of preparing for a KID heist that would prove just as entertaining as any other…

Somehow, the last one sent a small surge of warmth through him, like every other time he thought of the illusive thief. It was by far one of the best ways to waste sleep in his opinion. No murders happened on a heist (at least not usually), no oppressive feelings wore down on him as he chased after the thief, trying to figure out his every move and intent; just the exhilaration game of cat and mouse as they tried to out-maneuver each other in their respective fields of expertise.

Come to think of it, Shinichi had always seen the thief as a sort of constant in his life. He'd been there on the rise of his career, from their first encounter at the clock tower heist, following him through his life as Conan, always entertaining and distracting the small not-child from the feeling of hopelessness and lost, if only for one night, before meeting him head on as Shinichi once again.

He'd always been hovering there around him, as if reminding him the world kept spinning despite all the atrocities it had done to him, and Conan – Shinichi - whoever he'd been at the time, had been grateful for that.

So when he'd seen KID come crashing down from the sky, his white wings ripped and tattered, it was like the world came crushing down on him. He hadn't thought for one moment about what he was doing, only followed what his instincts were screaming at him. And when he found a semblance of his self later, he was supporting an unconscious thief on the way back to the house, away from the scene of crime.

And oddly enough, he didn't mind.

You'd think a person would feel slightly different with an international criminal lying in the next room, having been bandaged by their own hands and cared for until they completely heal. Shinichi had no qualms about that. Even more, he felt oddly at peace, as if the magician being in such close proximity to him these past three days was a normal thing. It probably was getting to that point too.

The detective of the East snuggled deeper into the warmth of his blanket, his head coming to press lightly against the heat that radiated off from it in comforting waves. He frowned slightly at the damp feeling of it, as if it was drenched in sweat. The pillow whimpered slightly at the movement before relaxing beside him once again.

'_Wait- What?!'_

Snapping his eyes open, Shinichi was met by the sight of a tanned chest rising rhythmically up and down, bandages obscuring his view of the upper part of it. There was only one other person in the whole house that could have done this.

"KID!" The detective bellowed as he bolted upright, his panicked eyes finally taking in the fact that he'd been _nuzzling_ into the thief's neck, as mortifying of a thought as it was. He turned his most withering glare on the other teen, blush spreading across his face, expecting to see a lecherous grin or a mocking smirk or _something_ directed back at him with a pair of mischievous eyes in tow.

Instead, he found the thief's eyes closed and mouth moving slightly in murmured words, for all purposes happily sleeping away in a bed that he was sure he_ hadn't_ been in last night when he fell asleep.

Something about the display nagged at him , but Shinichi ignored the feeling in favor of his indignation.

A scowl now accompanied the glare, and Shinichi held it sourly on the other teen's face as if he'd disappear and leave him alone just by the simple act of it. Seeing as this would not help any matters, since KID still hadn't dissolved into thin air, Shinichi set about trying to wake him up.

'_If he's sleeping at all. It wouldn't surprise me if he's faking it just to irritate me.'_

"Oi, KID!" The thief's only response was a few more murmured words and a hand sliding down the bed to pull the blanket back up to his chin. An eye twitched at the display, before Shinichi's hand flashed out to grab the blanket and throw it off the bed in irritation. "Wake up, idiot thief!"

The boy on the bed winced noticeably at the shout so near to his ear, before dazed eyes blearily blinked open.

"Tantei-kun?" he rasped, his voice coming out almost in a whisper. He looked up at the detective curiously. "What are you doing in my bed?"

Another eye-twitch. "What do you mean, your bed? You're the one who snuck in _my_ bed, for what purposes I don't even want to know-"

He abruptly stopped as he felt a hand sliding down across his thigh. KID's face was still the perfect picture of half-wakefulness, as if he wasn't even aware of what his hand was doing, but Shinichi didn't buy the act for one second.

He grabbed the wandering hand by the wrist and pulled it up to eye-level, scowl firmly set on his face. "Pervert." He accused.

The thief in question, though, seemed like he totally forgot about his presence and instead looked around with half-lidded eyes. "Cold…"

"Cold?" Shinichi asked, the scowl dissolving into a slight frown as he finally took in the thief's unusual confusion. He observed his appearance; his skin seemed slightly paler than yesterday, beads of sweat rolling off it, with a barely noticeable shiver perfecting the look. The detective cursed silently and immediately pulled the blanket off the floor to cover them both, before placing a hand to the other's forehead. He pulled it back at the scorching heat that met it.

'You're burning up. Didn't I put an extra blanket on you last night?"

"Was still cold…" KID murmured in reply.

Shinichi started as an arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer and effectively on top of the thief's good side. The blush came back full force as he struggled against the embrace as best as he could without aggravating the other's injured shoulder.

"Let go, KID!"

"…Why?"

'_Why?!'_ Shinichi shouted internally, but relaxed slightly at the glazed eyes staring back at him. It seemed like the thief didn't even know what he was doing, and his words came more as an automatic response than any real coherence. Again, that nagging sense of something being wrong came back, but alas, he ignore it once more for more important matters at hand. "I have to help you, KID. You're sick and need-"

"…Stay."

"What?"

"Stay… Just for awhile."

The detective found himself speechless as the magician settled his head back down on the pillow and drifted off to sleep. He stayed there for some time, listening to the other's heartbeat, thoughts swirling and blush never receding from his face.

-

Once he was completely sure KID was asleep, Shinichi wiggled out of the hold he had on him and escaped the warmth of the bed. He took a moment to collect his thoughts before he was on the move once again.

After putting on some clothes that weren't pajamas, he went to the room where the thief'd been residing just yesterday (before he decided his bed was a better option) and pulled the blanket he found there off. He took it back to the master bedroom, where he decided on sleeping during his stay (he didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing; on one side, it made it easier for him and KID to share the same bed, but on the other side, it made it easier for him and KID to share the same bed), and draped it over the thief.

This time however, as he found himself tucking him in again, he was caught in the act. A hand grabbed his wrist from under the blanket and he found himself looking into diluted violet-blue eyes.

The nagging feeling that had been gnawing at his brain ever since waking up came back to the forefront on his mind stronger than ever, and suddenly Shinichi knew _what exactly_ it had been referring to.

Immediately, as if burnt, he flinched from the thief's diluted stare, eyes flying around to look _anywhere _but at the two orbs, completely bare and without any monocle in sight. He tried jerking his hand out of KID's hold, but surprisingly enough it held, despite the weakness he must've been feeling while sick.

"K-KID, let go."

"…Why?"

"S-so I can get you something that will make you feel better." He decided speaking to the thief like to a child would be the best course of action here. He had to get out of there so he could sort this mess out in his head. This was way too much for him too take in right now. "Will you let me go? KID?"

KID pursed his lips together, as if irritated with something, before finally speaking. "…Kaito."

Shinichi froze. "W-what?"

"…Call me Kaito."

For one single moment, it felt like the ground fell out from beneath him, the heavens crushed down and ice filled his lungs.

Then he was back again, oddly detached, staring into those mesmerizing violet eyes of the magician before him. "Kaito."

Kaito smiled, a small up-curve to his pale lips, giving a barely audible nod before he collapsed back onto the bed, his grip on Shinichi's wrist loosening completely.

The detective hurried out of the room, his footsteps echoing in the empty house, his mind a jumbled mess of varying thoughts. Among these thoughts, one managed to make itself known above the others.

'_It seems very fitting though.'_ This was followed by a chorus of agreements.

'_And cute too.'_

The thought was firmly squashed down after that.

-

Later in the day, Kaito found himself shaken awake by Tantei-kun. He glanced at him curiously, his vision still somewhat blurry, before he took in the bowl he held in his hands. He glanced at the detective warily.

"Whazzat?" His words sounded slurred, but Kaito couldn't find it in himself to care. He was just _so tired_.

"Chicken soup. You need to eat it to get better."

He found his eyes closing again, the darkness drawing him in to their appeasing depths.

"KID…"

The words sounded faint, so Kaito ignored them. He just wanted to go to sleep.

"Kaito!" More because of the meaning of the word than the loudness it was spoken with, the thief jerked back to reality, eyes snapping open to focus on the detective.

'_Did he just say my name? My _name_? Did I hear right? Where did that come from?'_

A warm sensation filled his body, and Kaito realized that, somewhere in-between his musings, Tantei-kun had taken to righting him up in a sitting position and feeding him the chicken soup.

'_Tantei-kun is feeding me chicken soup.'_

He presumed his mind had shot off on another tangent again, for the next thing he knew he was being neatly tucked in as the comforting darkness threatened to consume him once again. Feeling much better with the warmth of the soup still coursing through his body, he turned his closed eyes to where he knew the detective was standing.

"Good night, Tantei-kun…"

A sigh was his response. "I guess, since it would seem unfair otherwise, you could call me by my name too."

The statement made a smile rise to his face. "Then, Shinichi…."

He thought he'd murmured a thing or two after that, but he was too far gone to care.

-

The next time Kaito woke up, he found one Kudo Shinichi sitting beside him in the bed, book leisurely held with both hands and back propped up against a fluffy pillow.

Tantei-kun- no, Shinichi glanced down on him as he took a deep breath to shake off his sleepiness, before returning back to his book.

"How many of those did you take on the trip here?" Kaito asked, chin gesturing to the book obviously mot the same one as yesterday. Hadn't Shinichi been supposed to stay here just for a night or two after the heist before returning to Tokyo? Why then did he need more than one book to entertain himself?

The other teen set the book down with a scowl. "I don't really know how it happened, but I found a second bag in the back of my car. It held a few of my favorite books and some pairs of clothes that _I_ obviously didn't pick out. Basically, it's just enough supplies for two persons to manage for a few days."

Kaito looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "It means my parents are either geniuses ready for every situation to come…"

"Or…?" Kaito prompted.

"Or they need they get a life." He finished with a smirk.

The thief grinned, chuckling lightly at the statement. "You know," he said hugging Shinichi tightly as best as he could with one arm and from his lying position. "I think we're going to get on just fine."

I took them another hour of slight bantering and light-hearted conversation (and some juggling on Kaito's part) before they finally settled down for bed. As Kaito soon found out, Shinichi didn't plan on kicking him out of bed nor stalking off to find a new one himself, but instead setting the book aside on the nightstand to slither down under the blanket, back turned to the thief. Kaito opened his mouth to inquire at the sudden change in sleeping arrangements, but Shinichi beat him to it.

"Don't get used to it. It's only a precaution so you don't get sick again. Good night, Kaito."

Kaito's smile could have lit the sun, but instead he took to settling down in the blankets still warm from both of their bodies' heat. "Good night, Shinichi."

* * *

A/N: This is an even greater close-call. twenty minutes til midnight, which means 9am here. I'm hopeless -_-"

A/N2: So, Kaito came down with some sickness, but since we don't really know what it is (and because I don't know how to treat infections at all) we'll go with the magical chicken soup scenario. And so, magically, our thief should be healthy again! Wonderful, ne? *is shot*  
I asked my mom (who went to medical school) how long it takes to treat bullet injuries that had gone straight throught it, without grazing any bone or nerves. After she got pissed off enough to actually answer me, she replied: "If it grazed only the surface, or goes through without shattering the bone, then I bandage it for you and you go the next day to school." So we'll go with that and conclude Kaito will pull through this with more of an annoying pierce pain than pure agony upon touch.

A/N3: Next up: Day Five! Kaito's finally able to move around, and Shinichi is mortified to notice he's having trouble keeping his pillow away~! Till next time! :D


	5. Day Five: A Kiss

Pairings: KaiShin

* * *

Day Five: A Kiss

* * *

When Shinichi awoke the next morning to an empty bed, it was to feel a great sense of loss well up within him. Sitting up in the king-sized bed, his gaze slid to the place on the floor where he knew he'd deposited KID's suit jacket yesterday when the thief'd been demanding some attention again. It was gone.

Really, it should have been expected. The injuries KID took were mainly scrapes and cuts from the branches he had too pass on the way to the ground, and even then he somehow managed to brace himself and slow his descent in the foliage long enough to not break any bones. Even his shoulder injury proved to be on good way to recovery, even with Shinichi's lack of extensive medical knowledge. By now, since the injuries already had some time to heal along nicely, not assuming KID wouldn't make a quick escape would be a stupid thing to consider.

But somehow, Shinichi felt betrayed. Even though they were on different sides of the law, Shinichi always saw them as some sort of, well, friends. Whether they wanted it or not, through some sort of twist in destiny, they learned to _know_ each other, to rely and trust they wouldn't attempt something against the other outside of their game's boundaries. To have the thief just up and going, as if he didn't have any faith in Shinichi's promise of a truce – it was… it was…

The teen shook his head against the dark thoughts. KID was _gone_, and there was nothing he could do against that. What did it matter if it felt like a heavy weight had settled on his shoulders or if the room suddenly seemed much more darker than yesterday? It wasn't like…

Like what? …Shinichi wasn't sure.

He stood up from the bed with the air of a tired man, even though he just had a full night's sleep, and grabbed some casual clothes he found in the mysterious second bag that appeared in his car. After that he went to the bathroom to prepare for the day and, upon exiting it fully dressed and refreshed, he made his way to the kitchen on the first floor.

The master bedroom was situated on the second floor, in the very back of the big house, so it was logical that he would have to pass the one room KID had resided in the first two nights (before he'd taken refuge in Shinichi's bed). He paused at the door, inwardly debating on whether to enter it or not. The thought of having to clean it and make the bed sooner or later anyway decided it for him.

The room was dimly lit, sun-light partially permeating the thick curtain preventing anyone from peering inside. Seeing no reason for it anymore, Shinichi moved the curtain aside to let the sun finally bathe the room in light. The bed was still a mess from its last occupant and Shinichi lethargically made it, fluffing the pillow up for good measure.

A soft clank was heard as something dropped to the ground. The detective peered over the edge to check. His breath caught in his throat when his eyes fell upon a monocle. _KID's monocle._

He bent down and picked it up, his thumb gliding over the smooth glass surface. The vexing charm dangled innocently off of it, dimly reflecting the sunlight.

'_How could KID __just forget this? I always had a feeling it meant more to him than just a mask. To just leave it behind…'_

A loud crash tore through the house, followed by a shrill scream from the kitchen. Shinichi was on the move immediately, his legs quickly carrying him to the threshold separating it from the living room. He abruptly stopped, one arm braced against said threshold, the other tightly gripping the monocle, to stare at the interesting scene before him.

There was KID, and there was the overturned chair that must've caused the noise. What was peculiar about the sight, though, was how the thief seemed to have a death grip on the upper corner of the kitchen, his eyes staring horrified at the refrigerator on the other side of the room.

Deciding to ignore the sudden relief and – dare he say it – _giddiness _rising inside him, Shinichi decided getting to the bottom of this weird situation would be the best course of action.

"KID? What happened?"

KID forced himself to avert his gaze from the kitchen appliance to Shinichi, his eyes still holding some sense of fear. He gulped slightly and slowly lost his death grip on the wall (how that was even possible Shinichi would never know) before dropping to the ground. The teen saw him wince slightly at the pain it must've brought to his shoulder, but otherwise it didn't seem like it bothered him too much. He met Shinichi's gaze head on, a shaky smile curving his lips up.

"N-nothing. Was just my imagination."

Shinichi found his eyes avoiding his automatically, the fact that one was not hidden by the monocle still somewhat _not right_ to him. Yesterday the thief had told him he could call him by his name, had crawled in his bed and shown him his face willingly… But then again, he'd been obviously sick and unaware of his own actions, so it seemed kind of unfair to exploit that information.

Deciding to ignore the thief's rather random bout of fear a moment ago, Shinichi held the monocle out to the thief. "Here, it fell off yesterday."

KID regarded him silently for a moment, his unnerving gaze sliding from the monocle to rest on his face. Finally the thief reached out and accepted the piece, his hand staying there just a bit longer than necessary. Shinichi's heart skipped a bit. Did he just imagine it?

"Thanks," KID said. "But where we're going today, we won't need it." And he slid the monocle into a side pocket of his grey pants.

'_Huh?'_ Shinichi's brain echoed.

"So, what's for breakfast today, Shin-chan?" Two twin orbs suddenly appeared inches from his, the gaze curiously innocent. Too innocent.

Blushing, the detective jerked his head back from the thief's close proximity, the bellow automatically sliding out his mouth. "K-KID!"

KID pouted. "Aww, Shin-chan, didn't we agree we're on name basis by now? Really." He crossed his arms, perfecting the picture of pure childish indignation. "For a detective, you can be _so_ forgetful sometimes."

Shinichi was left standing there, mouth gaping, as KID - no, it was Kaito now – lost interest in him and went to sit by the table, posture relaxed and eyes looking up at him innocently. "So, breakfast?"

Getting out of his state of shock, Shinichi scowled at him. "Why don't _you_ get something for _yourself_?"

"I-I don't know where what is standing around here, and besides," he turned to him with a leer. "I'm a guest here."

A deadpan look was his response. "Like I know this place. I just recently found out it even existed." He scowled, then indicated the fridge. "Besides, I've only stocked the fridge since I didn't think I would be staying long." Come to think of it, he would need t restock if they planned spending here another day, or they'd be left starving in the empty house.

The thief gave no indication of getting up from his chair, though, so Shinichi concluded he would have to serve them both. He scowled slightly – Dammit, he was _not_ KID's nurse!

Nevertheless, he made his way to the fridge and opened it, scanning the contents. There was some meat, a few fish cans, some fruit, milk…

He took out the milk and a box of cereal, picked up two bowls from a cupboard nearby and sat himself across from KI- Kaito.

"You keep a box of cereal in the fridge?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I was a bit preoccupied at the time to really pay attention to it." Shinichi huffed, knowing full well that he had four days since then to take it out, but forgot all about it.

Kaito's other eye-brow went up, but he didn't inquire any further on the subject, much to Shinichi's relief. They ate their meals in silence, Shinichi returning the food back to the fridge since Kaito loudly refused for some reason or another. It took Shinichi a moment of Kaito's snickering to realize he'd put the cereal in the fridge _again_, but he refused going back to take it out just for the thief's amusement. The glare that threatened Kaito to say something could have burnt a hole in his head. The thief just grinned in response.

After breakfast, Kaito announced. "So, I was thinking we could go out and explore a bit."

Shinichi turned to him (he'd wanted to wander off to light the hearth in the living room) and raised an eye-brow. "Why?"

"Well, for one, I'm getting itchy from being cramped up in this house so much. Four days of house-arrest is more than enough for me!" He huffed. "And two, we need to buy some food. Or better yet, something sweet. Something with sugaaaaaar~" the last bit was spoken in a childish wail as the magician latched onto Shinichi's arm. "Pwease~?"

And so Shinichi found himself walking with Kaito along the small forest path leading to the nearby village, cheeks still tinged a little pink, though he liked to think it was more from the chill December air than anything else.

"You know, I'm staring to find this situation a_ little_ creepy. I mean, a second jacket in that bag? With a scarf and a cap? That's tipping the scale of weird."

Shinichi had to agree; this situation was turning out stranger and stranger. It was his mother's work, of that he was sure, but how would she _know_ something like this would happen…? A fleeting image crossed his mind, his mother donning on a tight black outfit with a long sniper gun resting on her shoulders, causing him to sweat-drop. Yeah, right.

"…snow yet." He heard Kaito murmuring. Shinichi turned his head to look at him.

"What?"

"I said there's no snow yet. Usually everything's covered in white by now." This was accompanied by a small pout.

"Well, it should snow soon enough, so don't worry. I'm sure its just a matter of time."

The thief turned to him with a small smile, not his usual KID smirk, and ruffled his neat hair up (they both opted for not wearing any headwear). "Aww, so you do care!"

Shinichi slapped the boy's hands away. "What? No, I-"

"Kaito-kun?!"

The shout caused both boys to jerk around in the direction it came from. A middle-aged gruff looking man was making his way over to them. Shinichi immediately recognized him as Nakamori Ginzo, the head inspector of the KID taskforce and 'walking megaphone', as some people took to calling him.

"Nakamori-ojisan!" Kaito greeted the man with familiarity, to Shinichi's surprise. He knew the inspector?

The inspector came closer, his eyes glancing confused between the two teens, As Shinichi's hands came up to smooth the mess Kaito made out of his fringe down, Nakamori-keibu eyes finally lit with recognition. "Ah, you're that Kudo kid that always buts in KID's heists and thinks he can command us around!"

Shinichi sweat-dropped at that, but decided going along with it would be just fine for now. Better not provoke that infamous voice of his. "Ah yes, name's Kudo Shinichi."

The inspector huffed, his eyes resting on him a moment longer before moving to Kaito questioningly. "What a surprise to see_ you_ here, Kaito-kun. I thought your mother said you'd be gone just for a day or two on your trip before coming back."

Kaito took it all in stride, posture still relaxed as he lied to the inspector smoothly. "Well, you see, I did intend to stay only one day, but then I met Shin-chan here," here he wound an arm around said Shin-chan's shoulder. "who came to take care of his summer home, so I decided to stay a bit longer and make him company."

The inspector turned to Shinichi again, eyebrows raised. "You own a house here?"

The teen nodded deciding to follow Kaito's plan. "Yes, my parents bought one a few years ago and I just recently found out. I thought it was a good time as any now to go explore it so I set off four days ago, and met Kaito on the way."

The inspector turned thoughtful at the words. "Four days you say? Can't be there then…"

"Nakamori-ojiisan? Did something happen?"

"Huh? Ah, no. You see, there was a KID heist the other day-"

He was interrupted by an excited Kaito's voice. "What?! KID had a heist here? How come I haven't heard of it? I'm sure it would've been all over the news…"

Shinichi was impressed with the realness of Kaito's act. If he didn't know any better, even he would've thought the thief was being sincere in his excitement. Though really, it _was _KID after all.

"The information was kept secret to prevent a crowd from gathering and getting in the way of police," Nakamori-keibu explained. Shinichi inwardly snorted. It wasn't that no information leaked out, more like it had no time with KID giving out the notice in half a day's advance. "At the end of the heist, however, we have reports saying KID was shot from the sky-"

"What?! Really?! Did you find him yet?"

"No, we're still combing the forest, but found no trace of him. There was a shredded glider found suspended in the trees, and his vexing top-hat on the ground beneath it, but nothing else." Even though the words sounded angry, Shinichi could detect a faint edge of worry behind it. It must be torture to the inspector, not knowing if the criminal you've been chasing for years, and gotten to know quite well, was truly alive or not. "We'll start searching the houses around here today, but I'll tell the men it won't be necessary to come to yours. Among the two of you, I'm sure KID would have had difficulties staying hidden."

Shinichi started at the compliment. This was probably the _first_ compliment he ever got from Nakamori-keibu. He turned his head to glance at Kaito questioningly. And what had Kaito – Nakamori-keibu's Kaito – got anything to do with KID?

The inspector sighed heavily looking on in the distance of the early afternoon. "Well, I have to get back to the search team now. Goodbye, and Merry Christmas to you."

"Merry Christmas!" They both shouted back, momentarily startled at the similarity of their voices wording the phrase. They both crackled a smile at it.

"So, what does Kaito have to do with KID?" Shinichi asked once they started walking to the village again.

"Ah, well, let's just say Kuroba Kaito is a known magician in his school, and very useful to have around on a heist when you need to figure KID's hiding spots out."

Shinichi froze at the mention of the surname, but forced himself to relax again. He had to stop reacting like this to every new information about KID that he came across. It seemed all the rules of their game were slowly being squashed one by one. "Really? How come I never met this Kuroba kaito on a heist then?"

Kaito grinned. "He knows when to make himself scarce or the great Meitantei-san just might find him out."

Shinichi snorted. "True."

When they arrived in the village, Kaito opted for wandering around while Shinichi went shopping for some food. He had to promise Kaito he wouldn't buy any fish products though. Strange.

Once he was done with the shopping and met up with Kaito, they made their way back to the house. Upon returning, however, Shinichi found a surprise waiting for him.

"How the heck did this tree get in?!" Shinichi growled, for indeed, there was a big pine tree situated in the corner of the living room, blue and violet ornaments, as well as red tinsel, decorating it. The hearth was also lit, the flame casting warmth throughout the house.

He turned to Kaito. "That was you, wasn't it?"

A grin met his scowl. "I don't know, Shin-chan. Maybe it was Santa."

"After Christmas?"

"Let it never be said Santa forgets his children. And I wanted a big ass Christmas tree to properly celebrate the season!" Kaito cheerfully said, tipping his white top-hat up with a fingertip.

Shinichi slumped slightly, entirely giving up on making any sense of it. It hurt his brain to even think about it.

'_Wait…'_

"When did you get your top-hat back?" He hadn't seen him holding it anywhere before they entered the house, and it looked kind of hard to hide… Plus, the only time Kaito left his side was when he'd gone shopping, but that was barely twenty minutes, and the trek to their house lasts at least half an hour…

The thief just grinned. "I had to convince dear Nakamori-ojiisan that I'm still alive, no?"

'_My brain hurts.'_ Shinichi face-palmed.

_-_

The Detective of the East opened his eyes in the darkness, stare focusing on the frozen figure halfway in his bed.

"Kaito. WHAT. DO. YOU. THINK. YOU'RE. DOING."

The magician had the decency to look embarassed. "Eheheh… Sneaking into your bed?"

"OUT."

"Aww, but Shin-chan, it's so lonely in that room there!"

"NO."

"Please, I'll be good!"

"No."

"Aww! Pweaty pweaty pweaty pwease~?"

"No."

A moment of silence. "You do get I'll probably sleepwalk into here again?" The thief asked innocently. "Only then I won't know what I'm doing and won't se able to control my actions?"

A pregnant pause.

"Fine." Shinichi gave in, knowing fighting Kaito was fruitless.

"Yay~!"

Why did the thief have to take such a liking to sleeping in the same bed as him? Shinichi turned his back to Kaito to hide his blush.

_'Get a hold of yourself! It's not like he's going to-'_

His thoughts slid to a halt as lips pressed lightly against his cheek, pulling back before he could even fully comprehend _what just happened_.

"Good night." The thief settled down behind him on his back, for all of the world as if he hadn't _given him a peck on the cheek_.

Oh, Shinichi wasn't going to let this go. Not this time.

"What was that?" he asked, back still to the thief.

"What was what?" Voice still relaxed, still seeming completely innocent.

Shinichi seethed. He'd had enough of these games.

He turned his head around, fully intent to practically bite the other's head off in his anger. "THAT WHAT YOU DID, YOU BAST-mmph!"

A pair of lips met his, cutting him off mid-sentence and taking his breath away. He froze completely, body on fire, as the lips moved lightly over his.

They stayed like that, Kaito kissing him and Shinichi's brain going off to an unforeseen vacation to la-la land.

A moment, an hour, an eternity later, their lips parted, and hands wound around him, one around his waist and the other coming to rest on his hip, forcing him to face away from the other as his back was cushioned against his chest.

Kaito nuzzled into his shoulder from behind, eliciting a breathy shiver to run down his spine.

"This." The words were murmured into his skin, hot puffs of air ghosting over it. "Now sleep."

It was a long time before Shinichi's eyes thought of closing even a fraction, as wide open as they were, but eventually, lulled by the heartbeat of the one behind him, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A/N: Don't have much time for notes, have seven minutes till midnight (isn't it ironic?) D: Beyond hopeless -_-"

A/N2: So Day Five complete. I just about died at the last scene, I was giggling the whole time in super fangirl mode xD Okay, the next chapter should be the last, I think. I thought of making an epilogue, but I'm not sure I'll make it on time (not to mention I have no idea what to write in it) so its highly unlikely. This story has to be completed on the 1st at the latest. Suggestions are welcome though, so you can review or PM after the last chapter. What do you know, maybe I'll even write something based on it. n.n

A/N3: Next up: Day Six (and consequentally, Seven too) A normal day coming to a breathtaking end~! Hope you enjoy it! :D


	6. Day Six: A New Day

Pairings: KaiShin

* * *

Day Six: A New Day

* * *

The next morning when Shinichi woke up, it was to be greeted by the quickly familiar sensation of a body pressed up against his. Of course, he didn't realize this at first, rather opting to snuggle closer to the comforting warmth surrounding his front. His face pressed against it, feeling the heart-beat pulsating faintly.

As he finally came to full wakefulness and opened his eyes, he took his position on Kaito's chest quite well. So well in fact, that his only reaction was lifting his head up tiredly, taking in the situation, and letting it fall down again gracelessly. Really, it would do nothing to fight it anymore, so might as well accept.

Kaito – KID – apparently liked him.

He didn't need to be a detective to figure it out, but maybe he did need to be one to see the feeling was genuine and sincere. Yesterday, while the magician had peacefully slept pressed closely to his back, Shinichi's brain, too shocked by the revelation that _Kaito had kissed him_, had gone off on a tangent and asked itself if the thief really meant it, or just wanted to play him.

Because, really, even Shinichi had to admit that, in the past several days spent cooped up in the same house (and bed) with KID, somewhere along the way he started harbouring feelings for the illustrious phantom thief.

And so his mind, cynical and analytical as it was from numerous difficult life experiences and pessimistic views of the world, started to sift through the last few days, the days that changed his life through one way or another, hoping to find some evidence, some implication confirming the thief's deceiving and rather sick sense of humour. But no matter how much it searched, he could find no ill intent in the thief's behaviour. The friendly hugs, the playful banter, the stolen kisses… The smile Kaito gave him when he called him by his name… it was all so real, so genuine. KID – Kaito – really wanted to go through with this, despite all the rules of the game against them and the sides of the law separating them.

But, where did that leave Shinichi? He knew he felt some sort affection for the thief, but to what extent he wasn't sure. Sure he got flustered when the thief initiated intimate contact, but that was just his hormones ragging in his teenaged body. These past few days passed too quickly for him to just up and fall in love with someone. The idea was just absurd.

His heart beat wilder at the idea of love, but he ignored it expertly, deeming it to be just a side-effect of being draped over his- over Kaito.

His stomach growled faintly, and the magician under him shifted at the sound, arm tightening around Shinichi's waist (huh, he didn't even notice it was there) and breathing slightly hitching, before evening out again. Shinichi sighed, knowing he couldn't ignore his hunger any longer, and set about de-tangling himself from the thief.

Half an hour later found him in the kitchen downstairs, completely dressed and refreshed, cooking breakfast. He stood over the pan, mind preoccupied with the task of not burning the eggs (he'd always been a lousy cook, which is why he so often decided to forgo meals) and for that reason not noticing the presence sneaking up on him until it was too late.

Shinichi started as two arms snuck around his middle to pull him back into a lean chest. He froze momentarily, an instinctual reaction, before melting (relaxing!) against the chest with a sense of rising annoyance.

"Kaito…" he warned.

Kaito firmly disregarded any common sense knocking at the door of his brain. "Aww, Shin-chan, why didn't you stay a little longer in bed so we could cuddle more?"

"…Don't call me that."

"Why not? It sounds so cute, just like you are when you blush so much."

He indeed did blush but stayed silent, content to ignore the thief and their position in favour of the meal he was preparing. The thief strived on attention, and when he didn't get it, Shinichi mused, he'd have to give up sooner or later.

This notion was shattered to pieces as he felt Kaito's lips descend in the place between his neck and shoulder, doing wonderful things to his body and causing a shiver to race down his spine. He moaned slightly and let his head fall back to rest on a shoulder. He felt than heard the other chuckle as he nipped at the skin. The lips trailed up, up to lick lovingly at the lobe of his ear, causing another quiet moan to escape him. Then the cool lips left his skin and Shinichi let out a small whimper before he could stop himself.

"You'll burn your breakfast, Shin-chan~…" The words were murmured into his ear, followed by a chuckle.

Shinichi's eyes snapped open, his body broken out of its trance, and he cursed as he saw that indeed, he would burn his breakfast. He squirmed out of Kaito's hold, blush practically lighting his face on fire, and the other let go with one final chuckle.

"You know, I wonder how far that blush goes~"

"Don't even think about it," the detective warned, pointing to the kitchen table as if Kaito was a small child. "Go sit. _Don't_ move anywhere near me until I'm done."

Kaito pouted, but then perked up again. "So, once you're done I can do it again?"

"NO!" the teen shouted. He swore he'd never get rid of the heat in his cheeks if his day continued on like this.

'_Though it was enjoyable.' _A thought made itself known._ 'Shut up, brain!'_

After that, they spent their breakfast in relative peace, if you ignore Kaito's teasing comments and Shinichi's indignant replies. After breakfast, they retreated to the living room, Shinichi opting to read one of his books while Kaito set his head in his lap and watched TV.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "I thought the TV didn't work for some reason."

Kaito shrugged from his lying position, his head shifting slightly across Shinichi's lap. "It didn't, I fixed it yesterday. I'm rather good at it if I do say so myself."

"Really? I think the card-gun and various gadgets you use on your nightly escapades were proof enough."

Another shrug, but Shinichi saw the grin that stretched across the other's face. It dissolved into a small smile as the teen continued watching the screen and Shinichi couldn't help but think he looked cute like that. He shook his head off that thought and turned back to his book. Kaito was really getting to him.

They spent most of the day like that, breaking up only to eat lunch or talk occasionally about meaningless things. In the end their positions ended up reversed, with Shinichi falling asleep with his head on Kaito's lap, while the other continued to shoot glances at him every now and then.

-

Later, Shinichi was shaken awake by an excited Kaito. He barely managed to stand up on his own before he was dragged off through the house, Kaito leading the way. They ended up on the grand balcony on the second floor of the Kudo residence. Shinichi could see what was so great about it; it had a magnificent view of the surrounding landscape, the green of the pine trees stretching on in the distance and the full moon bathing them in a soft glow. There was the small village, and Shinichi was sure he could see a small glimpse of Tokyo city in the distance, if the orange glow of the normally dark night scope was any indication.

The seventeen-year-old looked around and found a blanket there, arranged to look like a loveseat, with another one resting atop of it. He turned confused eyes to his companion, who was looking on in the distance with a small smile, as if he was awaiting for something to happen.

"Umm, what are we doing here exactly?" He asked.

The other teen turned to him with a look of equal confusion swimming into his eyes. "What do you mean, 'what are we doing here'? Don't you know?"

"Know what?"

Kaito stared at him a moment longer, as if wanting to make sure Shinichi was completely serious about his answer. Really, Shinichi couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. After several moments of contemplation, in which Kaito must have deduced that yes, he sure as hell _was_ serious, the thief just shook his head exasperatedly.

"I knew Mouri-chan said you can be so forgetful sometimes that you don't know it's your own birthday before someone mentions it, but to forget about this day of all days… Taku." Here his KID side let itself show as he mockingly waved a finger in front of Shinichi's nose, smirk included, making Shinichi go cross-eyed trying to follow the movement.

Shinichi's annoyance grew as the thief refused to tell him what the fuss was about, rather opting to plop down in the loveseat and pat the space next to him.

"Coming? I promise you'll get your answer then."

Another scowl was his answer, but the detective took the invitation and sat himself next to his, well, friend he supposed. An arm wrapped around his shoulders, bringing him closer to the magician, and the other pulled the blankets over both of them, shielding them somewhat from the cold.

"So, going to tell what the big deal is all about?"

Kaito just grinned at him. "All in good time, Tantei-kun."

Shinichi sighed annoyed, letting the tension leave his body. There was no use arguing with Kaito, it only led to much headache about nothing, so he let it go. For now.

Instead his mind focused on an earlier titbit of information that the thief had let out. He blinked.

"You talked to Ran?"

The grin was still in place, as if it'd been just waiting for him to figure it out. "Why yes I did, Shin-chan! So what of it?"

"What of it?!" Shinichi asked in disbelief. "When did you even contact her?"

"I didn't. She called you yesterday morning, but you were asleep and left your phone in the kitchen, so I answered it instead. Took a lot of work to convince her it's not you that was on the phone, though." He mused.

"And…?"

"And what?"

"What did she say? Was there anything important going on?"

The damn thief pursed his lips and put his hand under his chin in a mock imitation of a thinking pose, and hummed as if thinking deeply. "Hmm, you know, she _didn't _really. Once she was sure I wasn't you and found out I was spending your supposed alone-day-turned-vacation with you, she turned all her attention on me. Kept asking things about my life and my intentions towards you, then spilling very interesting information concerning you…"

Shinichi paled at that, his mind running through all the possibilities such 'information' could entail, and the result wasn't pretty. Especially since he knew which 'information' the thief was referring to.

He groaned, burying his head deeper into the other's chest in his embarrassment. If Kaito noticed it, and he sure did, he didn't comment on it. "My best friend is teaming up with the great Kaito Kid to discuss my love life behind my back."

"Aww, its not so bad, Shin-chan, at least your mother was there to keep us company too!" That damn, that goddamn thief, chirped innocently.

Shinichi obediently waited for the ground to swallow him whole. It didn't. He groaned loudly, face-palming. Multiple times. This was _just too much._

A hand grabbed his by the wrist, preventing him from harming himself any further, and instead intertwined their fingers, holding it gently. A faint tinge of pink adorned Shinichi's face as he waited, head bowed, for the thief to start teasing him.

However, the thief surprisingly enough decided to let it go and instead brought a forgotten subject back up. He glanced at his wristwatch briefly, before turning to Shinichi back with a smile.

"So, you don't know what today is?"

Grateful at the change of subject, the detective shook his head. "No, I don't think I do."

Kaito clicked his tongue. "Well then, its time you find out. Make a wish, Shin-chan."

'_Huh?'_

The thought barely managed to penetrate his mind before the sky was alight with varying lights, colorful fireworks going off in the distant night sky. They continued rising from the remote Tokyo city, from the village, and most notably, from all around the Kudo mansion. Those were also the most sumptuous of them all, the entirety of them lighting up the sky above him, making his head crane back in wonderment. It was so beautiful, so enrapturing that he forgot all sense of time just watching it.

A squeeze of his hand distracted him from the spectacle playing out above him (the greatest spectacle this village has seen for sure) and he turned to face his companion, awed at the play of lights on his skin.

Kaito gave him a wide smile, so genuine it made him want to blush all over, and lifted his hand to kiss the back of it lovingly. "Happy New Year, Shinichi."

Shinichi returned the smile, turning back to admire the fireworks Kaito arranged going off above him. It was all so real, so genuine, the things Kaito did for him…

'_I wish…'_

He sat there for some time, just admiring the play of lights, in the arms of his – of Kaito, until he became aware of the other watching him. He turned his head to regard the magician again, eyes bright. It took him a moment to realize that the other looked, for the first time since he ever met him, shy and hesitant. It was a large contrast to his normal outgoing and prankster self.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Somehow his words carried clearly between the two of them, despite the loud sound of fireworks going off all around. Everything else faded into the background, only the two of them existing anymore.

Kaito took his hand and put in both of his instead of just having their fingers intertwined. Shinichi blushed, but kept his eyes on the magician's ones, so bright and full with emotions.

"Tantei-kun – Shinichi – these past few days… I think it changed both of our lives drastically, whether we wanted it or not, and, well, I found that I like you very much, as more than just adversaries, more than even friends, if we ever were something like that," here he faltered slightly, biting his lip nervously. "And I'm not very good with all this sentimental speech as you probably found out, but… but I'd like to continue this relationship… And by that I mean when we get back to our normal lives too. I know it'll be hard with us on different sides of the law and everything, but I'm sure- and I really-"

"Kaito," Shinichi prompted, and the thief's distracted eyes shot to his smiling face. "You're babbling."

And thus, for the first time ever, Shinichi witnessed Kaito blush. And found it very cute.

'I wish…'

The thief recovered soon enough. "Ah, sorry. Well, I'm sure we'll deal with those things when the time comes but, aside from all this, what I wanted to ask you tonight is - can I kiss you?"

The detective's only response was a blink.

Beside him, Kaito started to panic, as well as feeling disappointment growing within him with each passing second.

He was well aware that during these last few days, the days he spent with Shinichi, and well – learned to love him – any physical contact between them had been initiated by Kaito, with Shinichi being the one having practically no say in it. This, his question, it was a way for him to let Shinichi decide the future of this relationship of theirs. Kaito didn't want to pressure him in something he did not want to be a part of, so this, _this_ should be Shinichi's choice to make. He owed him that much for taking care of him since that fateful day.

But Shinichi stayed silent, and Kaito lowered his head to hide the crestfallen look in his eyes, willing his poker-face to come back on. It remained stubborn and refused to come.

A second hand was placed on both of his holding Shinichi's one, and he looked up at the other's shy face.

"It's 'may'."

"What?" he asked beyond confused.

"It's 'may I kiss you', not 'can I'."

It took him a few moments to realize the implications of that statement. "Does that-"

"And yes, you may."

His lips were on Shinichi's barely a second after he finished his sentence, their noses bumping and teeth clinking at the too sudden contact. They both laughed embarrassedly, separating just enough to share a look before their lips met once again.

The kiss was slow and sensual at first, but as they both lost their uncertainty about each other it turned more demanding and heated with each passing moment. Kaito nipped at Shinichi's lower lip, worrying it enticingly between his teeth and eliciting a quiet moan from his lover. Shinichi gasped as a tongue came to the crease between his lips, silently asking permission and plunging in as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

As Kaito's tongue explored his mouth, Shinichi moaned at the jolts of electricity traveling up his spine. He leaned closer to the magician and brought his hands around his neck to draw him in further. Kaito groaned, the arm around his shoulder retreating so he could bury his fingers in the other's neat combed hair. It was surprisingly soft, and he took full advantage of the situation to run his fingers lovingly through it.

His tongue coaxed Shinichi's, curling around it until they were both engaged in a heated battle for dominance, sighs and groans occasionally escaping them. They parted when the need for air became prominent, and both panted leaning against each other's forehead.

"Wow," Shinichi breathed.

"…Wow," the other echoed his statement with a smile.

The lights of the fireworks danced in the sky above them as they continued watching the display, occasional small (and some not so small and innocent) kisses shared from time to time.

As the fireworks slowly died out and the sky once again darkened, Kaito hummed quietly beside his lover. The detective turned a curious eye to the phantom thief, only to find him taking out a green emerald crisscrossed with red streaks out of his jeans' front pocket. He started, embarrassed to realize he'd forgotten all about the jewel these past few days. Now that he was honest with himself, the jewel never even once crossed his mind. Only KID and his safety had been important at the time. He would've probably left the jewel lying there in the forest if he saw it while carrying KID.

"Is that…?"

"The Belated Christmas, yes." Kaito replied. He held the emerald high above his head, letting the full moon reflect upon it. Shinichi admired the way the red streaks glinted in the moon-light, but upon the indifferent face of the thief deduced this wasn't what he was looking for. The next moment the emerald was flicked into the air and Shinichi automatically caught it. He turned questioning eyes to the thief.

"You can have it," he sighed. "Take it to the police and say you found it lying around in the forest or something. I don't have a need for it anymore."

Shinichi inspected the emerald in his grasp, turning it over carefully. He'd never really held a gem before. Guarded it and admired it on its pedestal, _yes_, but to actually _hold it_… His gaze shifted back to his boyfriend - well he _supposed_ they were a couple now ('_Oh get a grip, you brain, and stop making me blush, dammit!'_) – and asked silently.

"Will you ever tell me? About why you became KID, why those guys are so set on taking you out of their way, and what you are _really_ searching for?"

Besides him, he felt Kaito stiffen at the last question, but he didn't inquire about it. The other boy turned to regard him silently, his eyes solemn and probably lost in many painful memories. Shinichi almost regretted ever touching the subject of KID's purpose, because right then he looked so distraught that it pulled at his heart.

And then Kaito blinked.

"It's snowing."

And Shinichi blinked too.

"What?"

The magician reached over with a finger, making Shinichi go cross-eyed as he pulled something from his bangs. Shinichi focused on the finger, and indeed there was a small snowflake resting, already starting to melt because of the body heat so close to it.

He looked up in the sky and found other snowflakes descending upon the horizon, following the example of its previous companion. If the snow continued falling like this, the whole landscape would be covered in white by morning.

"You know," Kaito glanced at him, a true smile of the first snow still on his face. "Today would be exactly seven days since you found me lying half-dead in the forest."

Shinichi knew he was just trying to distract him from the earlier subject. He didn't mind. Those things would come later, but for now they should just enjoy this moment, their time together, and keep it in their hearts as an everlasting happy memory.

"So?"

"Don't you think that would be a good name for a story? Like 'The Seven Days That Took to Love You' or something like that?"

Shinichi's breath hitched in his throat. Kaito was looking at him, gauging his reaction, as if afraid he would bolt at any moment. He didn't need to.

He relaxed in his lover's embrace and snorted in amused fashion. "Really? Sounds a bit too cheesy for my taste."

His grin rivaled Kaito's as they both burst out laughing. They flopped on their backs, their laughing slowly dying out, the blanket cushioning their backs and snowflakes falling around them in the silent night.

"Kaito?"

"Yes?"

"We'll pull through, okay? Together, the two of us."

Silence.

"Yeah, together."

Another moment of silence.

"Good, now help me up. I'm starting to get cold out here and I don't want to catch a cold."

"Aww, Shin-chan, why ever not? It would just mean I'd have to take care of you~!"

A contemplative pause ensued. "…Maybe we _could_ stay a bit longer."

And amidst the strangled coughing of a certain phantom thief and the snickering of a detective finally getting his revenge, the first snow of the season continued to fall undisturbed from the sky, coating the canvas in a white blanket and following the rest of the world in a happy, new year.

_The End_

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A/N: And so it ends. I hope you liked my story, with all its flaws, non-flaws and fluffiness, and I hope you have a hapy New Year. n_n

A/N2: That set aside. Lets go onto business. I'm sorry I didn't manage to make the chapter in time, but it _was_ New Years and I had fireworks that needed attending :D I did work into the early morning, slept three hours and then continued working on the story for most of the day (without interruptions), though. Over 4,000 words for your enjoyment, heavily edited so you can actually read it without coming across any mistakes (I hope). And just so you know, I just about died (multiple times) writing that kiss scene. My first _ever_ kiss scene. It better be good because I'm still as red as Shin-chan after on of Kaito's teasing sessions.

A/N3: So the main story is complete. Catch the key word? Yes, there's an epilogue which will come in the next... six hours or so. It should be really easy to write, so it'll be up by the end of the day without any problems. I gather that I have till the end of this day until the challenge ends, and if I messed it up and it actually ended on New Year, well then who cares, at least I brought this story for you n_n

A/N4: Say, do you think I should change the genre to Romance/Humour or si this just good enough? I know the story has funny parts, but there's till the sniping and Shin-chan's angsty moment (tho it wasn't really angsty, it just showed he and Ran stayed friends) :S Review your thoughts! n.n


	7. Epilogue: Day 7: It All Comes Together

Pairings: KaiShin

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Day Seven: Epilogue: It All Comes Together

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"So, what you're saying is that we all live in an universe that is watched from another universe like a stack of manga and exploited in varying ways, creating other universes similar to our own, to satisfy the desire of its fans."

The trio nodded, the other occupants in the room mirroring the action, having heard and accepted the same explanation long ago.

"And in one of these universes, which is consequentially _ours_, you were sent on a mission by this fan community to gather material needed for the betterment of their loyalty and prosperity."

Again, another nod was his reply. Yuusaku leaned forward in his seat and put his head in his hand exasperatedly. Somehow, this explanation sounded so unbelievable and far-fetched that it actually seemed plausible. He turned to the other occupants of the room, all of them still frozen in the middle of the tasks they were doing when he barged into the basement of the Kudo mansion.

"And I suppose you all believe in this incredibly unconceivable theory?"

They all nodded at once, making him face-palm again.

Even though most people (and most noticeably his wife) would describe him as lazy and not inclined to move much from the library section of the house, Kudo Yuusaku _was_ a mystery writer and father of renowned detective Kudo Shinichi, so not noticing the increased number of daily occupants of the house would be quite impossible for him.

At first he thought nothing of it, presuming his wife decided to go all out, now that their son was out of the house on a suspiciously prolonged vacation, and invited over a few of her good friends that Yuusaku was fairly sure he didn't want to meet.

That notion had been disrupted when one day he saw Ai-chan from next door trudging through the thick layer of snow, folders (of the formal research kind might he add) in hand, into his house, with a winded Agasa following her, arms full with varying pieces of technology. He'd later searched the rooms of the Kudo house for any sign of mentioned equipment, but he came up empty-handed.

Until he remembered he hadn't searched one room in the whole house. The basement.

So when he was sure a meting (for it could only be a meeting of some sort) was taking place, he descended down the stairs and opened the door fully intent on finding out what the big commotion was all about.

And boy did he find it out.

Apparently the whole female population of his son's life decided to gather here, in this room (and it was a very large room) filled with monitors, control panels, computers and work desks littered with many important looking layouts and folders.

And apparently it all had something to do with his son's love-life.

He face-palmed again.

A delicate hand rested on his shoulder, and he looked up into the sympathetic eyes of his wife, who was holding a note pad in the other hand. "Don't try to fight it Yuu-chan, just accept it. I know its quite silly sounding, but the evidence far out-weights the common sense."

Yuusaku blinked. "Evidence?"

"Why yes of course," she grinned at him. "But may I first introduce you to these three ladies that made this all possible by confiding in us their important mission?"

She gestured towards the three girls that had grabbed him as soon as he opened the door of the basement and sat him down on the same stool he was sitting in now, explaining to him their situation before he could even comprehend what happened. The girls each saluted as Yukiko counted off their names. "These are Tsuki-chan, Alice-chan and Teah-chan. And as you probably got from their rushed explanation, they're on a mission here."

"From another universe." Yuusaku deadpanned. The girls nodded.

Yuusaku watched the girls silently, still somewhat unconvinced. "So, where's this evidence you spoke of?"

"Oh, I'll get it!" Teah chirped and eagerly wandered over to a small set of displayed photos on a table (some even hanging in frames above it, though Yuusaku couldn't tell their content from his angle), before turning around and calling. "Do we need the heavy evidence from the safe or are the ones lying around just enough?"

"I think those lying around are enough Teah-chan. I'm afraid my husband would die of heart-attack if he saw the heavily guarded ones!"

Teah pouted, but still chirped happily. "Okay!"

Yuusaku raised an eyebrow at the other two girls. Alice helpfully explained the situation to him. "She's just excited. There's some material that we picked up from one of the universes we'd been in before that heavily interests her, so it's understandable she's in hyper fangirl mode. She'll cool down, I promise."

Yuusaku nodded as if he understood. They didn't need to wait long before Teah came back with a stack of folders. What confused Yuusaku, however, was the reaction of everyone else in the room.

Upon seeing those folders held into the hands of the fangirl, all of the females in the room squealed gleefully and abandoned their tasks at hand (Yuusaku almost bolted at the sight _Haibara Ai squealing,_ but reigned himself) to seat themselves on various spots on the ground, eagerly looking up.

The mystery writer blinked as he finally got a good view of the party. There were Shinichi's school friends, Sonoko and Ran, as well as a girl he recognized as Nakamori-keibu's daughter (she was sitting next to pretty girl in black clothes and hair with a peculiar sheen of red), Sato-san from the first division, Miyamoto-san from the traffic department, Ai-chan and…

Yuusaku blinked.

"Kuroba-san? What a surprise to see _you_ here."

The woman turned to him with a smile. "Ah, Kudo-san. It's been a long time since we last saw each other, ne? I'm just glad our families found some way to bound together once again."

Yuusaku wanted to inquire further about the cryptic statement, but he was silenced by Alice's announcement. "Okay, who wants to see some pictures~?"

A round of squeals and whoops was the only answer she needed.

"Okay, hold the folder Tsuki-chan, while I present them to our audience-"

"Hey, why do I have to hold the folder?"

"Because I very well said so, now hold it up!"

"You can't-"

A subtle cough from Teah made them aware of the impatient audience more than used to their antics. Alice just pushed the folder into Tsuki's hands, causing her to seethe but let her sister off with the deed. For now.

"Now, as I was saying, let us begin! The first picture at today's meeting is-" She held up a picture, large enough for everyone to see. "Our dear Shin-chan getting his neck thoroughly marked by Kai-chan!"

In the midst of ensuing squeals and coos, most noticeable being the very high one from Teah, Yuusaku choked on his spit. The picture in itself was off a very good angle and quality, even though it was dark outside. It was a testament to the professionalism of the stalker that took it. Yes, _stalker_, because he was sure as hell his son would have never allowed a picture like this to come out in the broad day-light.

It depicted his said son on an abandoned roof-top, which was normal enough, if it weren't for the white cape of a certain phantom thief KID almost shielding him from view. The material was being billowed away in the cool breeze, the picture managing to capture a view of white covered hands being wrapped around his son's waist, KID's mouth on Shinichi's neck as the other held his eyes closed, head inclined in the direction of the camera.

Suddenly he knew he had dug his own grave, just like Shinichi all those months ago with the Black Organization, by snooping around too much and pushing his nose into business that should have been left untouched. His jaw continued to stretch impossibly wide with each passing picture, with him occasionally twitching at a too loud squeal here or there, until the show came to an end and the group returned back to their tasks.

A hand waving in front of his face brought him out of his shock, and his eyes focused dazedly on his wife. She stared at him concerned. "Yuu-chan, are you alright?" She turned to Kuroba-san. "You think we broke him?"

The woman just waved it off. "Of course not. As if he'd break from something as mild as that. The girls didn't even get to the interesting pictures from the safe."

'_Mild?!'_ The mystery writer shouted inwardly_. 'I just saw my own son getting molested by my deceased best friend's son! Who is also KID!' _

'_But,'_ his mind supplied. _'You didn't get to see even one of the 'guarded' photos, so be happy.'_

And he was. Immensely so. He just wanted to bolt from there as soon as possible. But first he needed to get some answers.

He addressed Kuroba-san. "So, you're here because our sons…"

She shot him a smirk, confirming that she indeed was Kuroba Toichi's wife and a good friend of Kudo Yukiko. "Yes, I'm here to get our sons together."

Something was fishy about that statement. "Get them together? But aren't they already…?"

Here Yukiko broke him off. "And that's the point of it all, Yuu-chan. These girls travelled to our dimension because they knew what would happen and offered us to help them gather material for their community. And in exchange, we could observe as our boys got together and learned to love each other. And the others are here for fun and black-mail. We needed some help with the equipment."

Feeling a massive sweat-drop coming on, he turned to regard the other occupants of the room, namely Nakamori-keibu's daughter and Sato-san. "And them? How are you sure they won't tell KID's identity?"

"They won't," the three adults turned to the fangirl trio approaching them. Tsuki was speaking. "The oath of a fangirl holds more water than their obligation to law, and besides, they both agree its high time both Shin-chan and Kai-chan have some happiness in their life after the tragedies they had to go through."

A solemn air descended upon them, but it was soon broken by Teah chirping up again. "So, want to watch the video footage of last night's New Year kissing scene on the grand balcony of the Kudo summer home? We have some time before we have to go, but until then…" she let the sentence hanging in the air as a grin grew on her lips.

Yukiko sighed sadly at the trio. "It'll be so boring without you girls here," she perked up again, a grin mirroring theirs on her lips. "But all those pictures-"

"Don't forget the blackmail!" Sonoko and Ran shouted, having overheard the statement.

"-and blackmail, it'll last us for a lifetime!" She squealed. "Now, shall we?"

The girls readily agreed, and soon the whole population of the room was attached to a large screen on the far wall of the basement. Yuusaku didn't know nor did he want to find out how they managed to squeeze it through the small entrance door. He just fled out of there, running for his life.

He would lock himself in the library. And if his son asked, he had no idea about the blackmail being produced and multiplied in the very basement of his own house. He just wished he could wipe those photos out of his memory.

No father was meant to get so intensely involved in their child's love-life. None.

_The Real End_

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_A/N: Meh, I edited this, but forgot to copy the author's notes and everything, so here goes an attempt at remembering it all._

A/N: And now this story really is complete. Hope you liked this added little tidbit :D

A/N2: The fangirls in this omake/epilogue are Alice The Walker, Tsuki_Rae (her sister) and me. It was based on _her_ epilogue, where I played part in it, so I decided to return the favor n.n Also, I give virtual cokies to anyone who can tell in which universe (story) that first piece of picture 'evidence' was taken :D

A/N3: And I'd like to thanks all those who reviewed, alerted, favorited or just plain read this story. You've all been a great encouragement and I'm really thankful for that, especially -xShiroi-chan and Alice The Walker who reviewed every one (if I'm not mistaken) of my chapters, so kudos to you. Thanks for all the support. Teah no kitsune turning off. n_n


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